The news decidedly was mixed Sunday night for the Lakers, who needed 40 points from Kobe Bryant to subdue the lowly Golden State Warriors by 120-112 after watching Andrew Bynum limp from the court with a sprained left ankle.

A sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center held its collective breath near the end of the game when Bryant helped to fend off the Warriors and also when Bynum left for the locker room after landing awkwardly while going for a rebound in the first quarter.

Bynum, an All-Star center, took a couple of tentative steps and then motioned to the Lakers bench to have someone ready to come into the game to replace him, which fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol did with 1:49 left in the quarter.

The 24-year-old Bynum bypassed the bench and headed straight for the locker room. X-rays taken during the second quarter indicated there was no break, but he could not return.

He suffered what the Lakers called a moderate sprain and a team spokesman said he would be re-evaluated today.

The Lakers’ next game is Tuesday against New Jersey.

“I haven’t talked to our trainer yet, so I don’t know, but I think it’s going to be OK,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said when asked about Bynum’s status. “I just saw him walk out (of the Lakers’ locker room) and he didn’t have crutches.

“I don’t think it’s going to be long-term, but I’m going to wait and see.”

Bynum departed Staples Center without speaking to reporters.

Troy Murphy, a 6-11 power forward who is most comfortable on the perimeter, replaced Bynum in the starting lineup for the second half against the undersized and injury-depleted Warriors. Bynum is averaging 18.3 points and 12.1 rebounds.

Murphy had eight points and 11 rebounds against the Warriors.

Gasol shifted to center from power forward, a familiar move for him while the oft-injured Bynum has been sidelined by injuries in the past. The Lakers have played 122 games without Bynum over the past four seasons.

Bynum’s previous significant injuries have been to his knees, and he often has joked his knees might give him trouble but his ankles are strong. He has played in all 49 games for which he has been eligible to play this season.

He served a four-game suspension to start 2011-12 for decking J.J. Barea in the second half of Game 4 of the Lakers’ second-round playoff loss to the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks last spring.

Elliott Teaford covers the Clippers and the NBA for the Southern California News Group. He has written about hockey for the past five years and is looking forward to thawing out after so many days and nights sitting in frozen rinks. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.

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